Blue Jays’ stars are dropping like flies, injury updates

Catcher- Russell Martin

The Blue Jays were already thin in their lineup before the injuries to Russell Martin and Kendrys Morales in the last few days. In Martin’s case, he had been removed up to 3rd in the batting order, and was performing much better than the first dozen or so games of the year.

Sure enough, the injury bug bit Martin as well, and he landed on the 10 day disabled list on Monday, joining several other Blue Jays stars on the sidelines. For the Canuck backstop it was a case of left shoulder irritation, and it was enough to land him on the DL, hopefully for just the 10 day minimum. Martin is a tough customer who regularly plays through being banged up, so obviously the issue was significant enough to keep him out of an already depleted lineup.

The injury couldn’t really have come at a better time, and thank you to @bluejaysalways for summing up my feelings in a Seinfeld themed tweet.

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In his absence the Blue Jays called up Mike Ohlman, who made his Major League debut on Tuesday catching Mike Bolsinger, forming a battery that had appeared in Triple A Buffalo already this season.

Ohlman had been tearing the cover off the ball with Buffalo Bisons and had certainly earned the call-up. The club also has Luke Maille who joined the team after they designated and released Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Martin has been a staple behind the plate since arriving in Toronto, and will hopefully return after the short stint on the disabled list as well, if all goes according to plan. While Ohlman and Maille are serviceable, neither bring the upside that Martin brings on both sides of the ball.

In addition to everyone we’ve already discussed, the Jays are also missing Dalton Pompey, Bo Schultz and Rule 5 pick Glenn Sparkmann from their roster, rounding out a talented disabled list. Hopefully the injury bug will leave the team alone now and they can get their best lineup on the field sooner than later. With 129 games remaining in the season, there is still time, but they’ll need to get healthy in order to truly have a chance to compete over the long haul.